


Fluttery

by Infiniteleft



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Attempted Flirting, F/F, Fluff, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:06:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29544213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Infiniteleft/pseuds/Infiniteleft
Summary: Dia has an idea how to catch her crush's attention. Now, she might need to work the execution a little...
Relationships: Kurosawa Dia/Tsushima Yoshiko
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	Fluttery

“I will never understand you, or your icy heart,” was what Dia tuned back into.

When she agreed to spend the late afternoon with Mari, she’d been pleasantly surprised to find her friend waiting for her, on time, with a book in her hands. The day was lovely, too, a light breeze bringing the faintest hint of saltwater into the air. Sitting under a tree and reading with one of her most treasured friends was a lovely rarity, when things were this calm and relaxing.

She’d brought her own book, of course, so Dia was content to simply sit under the branches and listen to the roar of the tides, the brushing of the leaves, and occasional crunching footsteps from the gravel path that had brought them here. The lullaby of the sea cast her attentions deep, and she’d spent most of the minutes getting lost in the historical drama she’d picked out. While certainly played up -- drama was the aim, after all -- it was a compelling read nonetheless, and she only broke out of her musings to find Mari insulting her in the highest fashion.

Dia could only gape, stunned, hurt, and confused. “Excuse me?!”

Mari dropped her book, fingers splaying out in surprise. She looked just as baffled as Dia was for a moment, before recognition clicked in her eyes. “Oh, no! No, not you, Dia!” She leaned over to pull her into a tight hug, ignoring the protests. “Never you. The Duke, I mean the Duke.”

“The… The Duke of where?”

“Why, the Duke of Wisconsin!” Mari sighed, releasing her grip. “Such a cruel man. I don’t understand how you could see someone so in love as Lisa and have the heart to say no!”

Shutting her book, Dia tried to recall where Wisconsin was located. “Mari… I don’t think Wisconsin has a Duke.”

A finger was pressed to her lips, quieting her protests. “Shh. Of course not, America doesn’t have nobility! It’s for the  _ flair _ , ehe! Well, it’s also set where America never happened to win their war, so…”

“You’re telling me you’re reading a novel about British-ruled America, and you’re more interested in the… romance?!”

Mari laughed, obviously finding her disbelief to be worthy of belittlement. “I am a lady of exquisite taste, you know! And the touches -- they’re so simple but so  _ meaningful _ ~!” Mari sighed, leaning onto her hands and giving Dia a dreamy look. “So scandalous, brushing their fingers against eachother, lingering, longing…”

Dia looked up from her own book, completely unamused. “If brushing fingers together is scandalous, why haven’t you been arrested for public indecency yet?”

Mari blinked before laughing. “Context, context! It’s not flirting… unless you want it to be, dearest Dia.” She fluttered her eyelashes, tilting her head seductively. With an ill-tempered huff, Dia leaned away. Pretty though the blonde might be, her heart lied with someone who was a little less… blonde.

“Absolutely not.”

“Tsk. Your loss,” her friend lamented, leaning back against the tree. “No one can say I didn’t try! Being upfront… the rejection is too much to bear! Oh, how I should have been more subtle…”

Subtle… Dia pretended to duck behind her book in annoyance, knowing Mari would sniff her out in a heartbeat. Perhaps it was being exaggerated, but it  _ was _ an idea, and not a bad one to boot. Subtle and elegant. Now, the only problem was that she needed to make sure they both knew what it meant. Knowing Yohane, however? Her fingers drummed against the cover, silent. It might just work.

* * *

Carefully, Dia propped the book upright on her desk, sliding another two in front to keep it open. Alright. What messages did she need to send? ‘Kiss me’ was direct, but  _ too _ direct. Yohane might think she was joking. No, she needed to speak with her, but she had to catch her attention first. There was ‘I’m single,’ which might be good to start with. Simple enough. Carefully, she opened her fan, fluttering it, watching her reflection.

It might be mistaken for her simply being hot; merely that alone wouldn’t convey anything, particularly not if it wasn’t a chilly day. The fan was a practical object, if also ornemental as well. Nobody would think twice of this, especially not her unsuspecting target.

‘Talk to me,’ would be a good follow-up. Easily mistaken by outsiders as a brief pause, but enough to draw attention if she timed it right.

She touched her cheek. ‘I fancy you’ was perfect to come after. Hesitantly, she tried it out, watching herself all the while. Oh, goodness, this was awkward and she wasn’t even in front of anyone yet!  _ Do people actually practice flirting?  _ Dia wondered, lowering the fan. She sighed. As long as she never told a soul about this, it would be fine.

What else could she add, make it a  _ little _ more obvious she was trying to send signals to Yohane? She leaned in, tapping her lip with its spine.

‘I love you.’ No. Too direct, too early, too… potent.

Ugh, all of these weren’t useful. ‘We’re being watched.’ What use would that be? She made the gesture in mocking frustration, before opening it back up. Okay. From the top. “I’m single, talk to me,” she muttered.

“...sis?”

Dia’s eyes shot towards the mirror again to spot Ruby behind her, sketchbooks in hand. Her sister was eyeing her book. Dia moved to cover up, slamming it shut and tossing the fan behind her desk. “Ruby!” She yelped, feeling her face heat up. “Wh-- I didn’t hear you come in! You’re supposed to  _ knock _ !”

“B-but I did!” Ruby drew the books up to her chest, shuffling back a couple steps. “Didn’t -- didn’t you he -- hear me?”

“No!” She shared a mortified silence with her sister before easing upright. Alright, maybe she needed to work on her whole ‘subtlety’ thing before she could even think about making an attempt to woo anyone, let alone Yohane. She turned away, trying to regain some semblance of propriety. Her hands smoothed out the pages of the book before she slipped it into her lap, clearing her throat. “What did you want, Ruby?”

“Um…” That seemed to break her sister out of her trance. The sketchbook was placed onto the desk next to her, opened to a certain page already. “I wanted to ask you if these looked okay so far…”

Pretending that she hadn’t just been caught flirting with a mirror, Dia leaned over to inspect the design.  _ Again? _ Leveling a blank stare at Ruby, she tapped the skirt. “This is too short, Ruby.”

“Eh?! You… you think so?” She leaned in, peering over her shoulder. “But we’ll be wearing petticoats--”

“Too. Short. It’s highly improper, Ruby. Either we need shorts, or a longer skirt.” Dia frowned. “We’ve been over this.”

“Sorry…” Her sister wilted, and guilt smacked Dia upside the head. Before Ruby could whisk it away, Dia moved her fingers to tap the top, giving it a careful once-over.

“Perhaps tights could solve the problem. If you made them match, here, you could keep the skirt.”

Ruby blinked, looking between her sister and the paper before letting out a thoughtful hum. She reached to take the sketchbook back, considering it before tucking it against her chest. “Thanks, sis. I’ll try.” She relaxed a little, seeing Dia’s irritation hadn't lasted long. “So, um, what’re you doing with ‘the language of--’ wait…”

Dia felt her face slowly forming a frown.

“Sis… are you trying to ask someone out?!”

“No!” She hoped that she sounded convincing. Of course she couldn’t get away with not mentioning this. This is what she got for tempting fate, huh? “I’m just-- brushing up on it, that’s all! It’s a nice, proper thing to be doing, particularly when bored. Certainly better than what Mari’s suggested.”

Ruby stared at her before quietly noising an ‘uh-huh’. “Okay, have fun, sis.”

Dia listened to the door shut behind her sister, and she could’ve  _ sworn _ she heard giggling the moment it did. She looked back into the mirror to find her face a lovely cherry red.

* * *

The time had finally come. _ Beach day. _ She’d spent more evenings than she’d like to admit working on perfecting and memorizing the movements, making them clear but natural. If she botched it… well, there were two more obvious options. Either everyone would notice and call her out on it, or Yohane would miss it entirely and she’d spend another few weeks fuming in her bedroom at midnight, cursing the wasted time. She was hoping for the third option, which would be ‘Yohane notices and likes me back.’

Absolutely no time was given to the fourth option, the most frightening one. If her thoughts lingered on it too long, Dia knew she’d lose her nerve. And she’d spent too long for something as awful as that to happen.

Lounging under an umbrella on the beach, with Yohane sitting across from her, was the  _ perfect _ window. Carefully, she unfolded her fan, drawing her crush’s attention. No going back now… A Kurosawa never gave up, so Dia began fluttering.

“Aw,” Yohane sighed, looking at the fan, “now why didn’t I think of that? It’s sweltering today. Even a fallen angel such as I cannot survive these searing temperatures.”

It was a start. Dia snapped the fan shut, pressing it to her lips, lingering a little more than necessary. “You could’ve gone into the water,” she pointed out casually, stretching her legs out. “I’m sure it would be cooler there.”

“I’m already turning into a tomato,” was the whining response she got. “Besides, do you  _ really _ think it’s a good idea to get in between Kanan and You right now? Look! You tell me that’s not unabashed violence. The heat has sapped my strength’s reserves. I’ll test my luck here.”

Dia sighed. If it was more melodramatic than it needed to be, there were only two other people here with her-- excluding Yohane. “Fair enough,” she acquiesced, touching her cheek as she looked down. Already, her heart felt faint.

They sat there in silence for a little while. Despite Dia trying to rotate through the motions, in the hopes of grabbing Yohane’s attention, the other girl merely flopped over with a groan.

She couldn’t help it; she stole a glance at Mari, wondering if she’d somehow catch on to this pathetic display. Her friend was absolutely smitten with her book, and Dia didn’t know if she wanted to be thankful or frustrated. Subtlety was not  _ working, _ Mari, but did she ask for her friend’s help beforehand? No, no she did not. Enduring the teasing would kill her before the actual flirting could.

With a small huff, she snapped her fan back open with more force than she meant, earning her some stares. She kept her eyes out on the water, slowing her motions as she rethought her plan.

* * *

_ Geez, what’s her problem? _ Yohane sat up a little to watch Dia’s fanning go from efficient to angry. Following her gaze out onto the water didn’t help at all, with her glaring at a lazy wave. Huh, now that she thought about it, Dia had been acting weird ever since they got here. Shuffling, glaring, biting her lips, avoiding talking too much...

Had she not been so familiar with her, she would’ve said the heiress was antsy about something.

As if feeling Yohane’s stare, Dia shifted uncomfortably, crossing her legs. Was she self conscious? Whatever could she be self conscious about? Sure, she might seem a little plain compared to a supermodel, but… honestly, Yohane had to admit that calling her anything short of ‘beautiful’ wouldn’t cover it. Even that didn’t do her justice… perhaps exquisite? Pulchritudinous?

Yohane ripped her gaze away. Okay, maybe scrutinizing the fine markings on her skin wasn’t going to help her out there. Dia had turned her head away, the fan closing and resting against her ear. It shook just enough for her to see.

_ Great going, seriously, what a marvelous job you did of making the problem worse. Again. _ Swallowing nervously, she tried to figure out how to break the now awkward silence. “H-hey, Mari, what’re you reading?”

Ruby and Mari both stopped reading, and Yohane tried not to cringe.

“Oh, this? Just a little romance! It’s the one I was telling you about, Dia,” Mari looked over at her, strangely pointed about it. Dia jumped, scowling as she continued. “We’re getting to the good part, the  _ exciting  _ part. Isn’t that right, Ruby?”

“Um…”

“See? It’s so titillating that your dear sister is speechless!” Mari seemed to be taking pleasure in  _ something _ , but what that was evaded everyone else there.

Dia’s face twitched before she turned away with a huff, muttering something under her breath about Mari’s corrupting influence. Or, that’s what Yohane thought she was grumbling about. She was quick to cover her face with her fan. If she didn’t know any better, Yohane would’ve thought that she was trying to send a message with that thing.

“I’m gonna go help Hanamaru,” Ruby said after a moment, and the trio looked up to find her absolutely drenched and scurrying away from Chika. Without waiting for a reply, she got up and gave chase, leaving them behind.

Yohane was about to join her when a hand grabbed her arm, yanking her back onto the sand with a grunt. She looked at Mari, offense bubbling up in her face. “Hey--”

“I haven’t finished telling you about my book yet!” Mari pouted, before tugging her closer. Uncomfortably close. The blonde rested her chin on Yohane’s shoulder, her breath tickling her cheek. She heard the soft inhale prefacing the whisper, then;  _ “You’re really not paying attention. She’s flirting with you.” _

“Wh-what?”

Mari only pulled away and winked, going back to her book. Gaping like a fish, it was all she could do but stare. Surely not. That had to be some sort of weird Mari joke -- but no, when she looked over, Dia seemed to look a little… dejected. Oh.  _ Oh. _

Dia  _ had _ been sending messages -- messages that Yohane completely overlooked.

Mustering up her strength, and some courage, she scooted over, trying not to look as wrung out as she felt. “Hey, can I borrow that?”

Dia gave her a quick glance, her lips firm. Yohane could see the faintest trace of frustrated tears that wouldn’t fall, and she swallowed anxiously. After a moment, Dia looked away and handed it over wordlessly.

* * *

To be quite honest, Dia didn’t know what she’d been expecting. This was truly an utterly  _ stupid _ plan from the get-go, and she didn’t know why she hadn’t just tossed the idea out the moment she had it. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, really, as much as she wanted to fume.

Yohane inspected the fan before closing it. What had she wanted it for, if she wasn’t going to use it…? It was strange enough to draw her attention back, and she tilted her head with a small scowl.

“So, uh, have you read any nice books lately, Dia?” Yohane held her fan up, slowly opening it underneath her eyes.  _ No. She wasn’t -- was she? _ A scoff. Of course she wasn’t -- she was being ridiculous.

“Not anything worthwhile. Mostly a waste of a time.”

The fan closed, resting on her lips. God, of course Yohane had to wear that sparkly lipgloss today, the one that shifted from pink to blue that kept her mesmerized so often. “Aw, come on. I’m sure they’re not that bad.” She paused, then smirked. “Do they have to do with this, then?”

_ What is she…  _ Dia started, watching the fan half-open. In what she would look back on as the most smooth and suave move either of them would ever manage, Yohane considered it before pressing the fan to Dia’s own lips, which parted in surprise.

“Is this what you wanted to say, Dia?”

She could only nod.

* * *

Mari looked up to find Yohane whispering in Dia’s ear. Jaw loosening in shock, she couldn’t help but try to listen in… and then realized that they weren’t whispering at all. Though the fan might be hiding their faces from the rest of their friends, Mari had prime territory to observe that no secrets were being shared.

_See,_ she thought. _I_ _knew Dia liked subtle._

**Author's Note:**

> If mistakes are found, please tell me because I, apparently, cannot read.
> 
> (the amount of placeholder lines I leave in even after three passes of editing is embarrassing.)


End file.
